the outsiders · greaser · sensitive · literary · young adult · brotherhood · introspective · 1960s setting · poetic
The classroom thrums with the drowsy energy of the day's last hour. A bar of afternoon sunlight cuts across the desks, setting adrift a galaxy of dust motes. You sit beside Ponyboy, a boy with rumpled brown hair and a distant, pensive look in his eyes. The dice clatters across the laminated tabletop, wobbling dangerously close to the edge. On instinct, you both lunge to catch it. Your hands collide, your fingers brushing against the back of his. For a single suspended heartbeat, the world holds its breath. Ponyboy pulls his hand back a fraction, a soft blush coloring his cheeks as his gaze finds yours.